USiPhoneOwnershipReachesPeakAheadof'iPhone8'Launch

At the end of 2016, iPhone ownership in the United States exploded to reach an all-time high. At that time, there were 85.8 million iPhone owners aged 13 and older in the U.S., according to comScore MobiLens Plus.

According to the report, Apple’s iPhone 7 models have driven the recent growth push. Released in September 2016, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus accounted for approximately 12.6 percent of all models in this latest survey.

Meanwhile, the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s series accounted for the plurality of Apple handsets in the U.S. with a 48.4 percent share. An estimated 17.8 percent of users still had an iPhone 5, iPhone 5s, or iPhone 5c, while approximately 3 percent used the 2016 iPhone SE.

Based on these iPhone ownership numbers, nearly 85 percent of handsets in use at the end of last year were sold in 2015 or earlier. This is good news for Apple heading into the 2017 iPhone cycle:

Because expectations are so high with this upcoming iPhone 8 upgrade cycle, many news outlets and analysts are referring to it as a “supercycle.” The rationale behind these expectations is that the release of the iPhone 6 led to a boom in Apple’s iPhone installed base. Now many of those device owners are prime for an upgrade after 2+ years with the iPhone 6 or earlier models.

Apple’s expected to unveil three new handsets in September, including the newly designed “iPhone 8.” An “iPhone 7s” and “iPhone 7s Plus” are also likely.